Sept 7, 2013 – Saturday

We got a late start today. When we woke up it was still dark out and I thought it was around 5:00 AM. Turned out that it was almost 8:00 AM! The overcast skies and the trees that surround us made it seem like it was still night. We did finally get up and got ready for the day, slowly. We don’t have a lot of plans today but we did manage to fill most of the day.

Our first destination was Athabasca Falls. We had been hearing that this was the place to see. We had passed it on our way in yesterday but didn’t stop, knowing we would go back. It is about a 30 minute drive from town. We took a side road that we didn’t drive with the motorhome as it was more scenic. I had hoped to see some wildlife but didn’t. Unless a chipmonk counts. It was a nice drive though.

We finally reached the falls and found a parking spot. There are a lot more people out and about then I expected after Labor Day. I guess a lot of people took the whole week off. They recommend that you take about 30 minutes to check everything out. I think we took a bit longer. My legs are really sore today so I wasn’t walking fast. First we saw the river and where the water disappears down.

Then you walk around a curve and there are the falls. They are very impressive. A lot of water is going over and it is all glacier fed. The water looks milky white because of the rocks and sediment that are pounded by the glacier forming “rock dust”.  It is said that during the winter the water is clearer.

After visiting the falls we headed into Jasper. We don’t have internet out here at the campground so we have to go to Tim Horton’s (the Canadian Dunkin Doughnuts) where they have free wifi. We decided to have lunch there while we surfed the net and checked emails. The lunch wasn’t bad. We both had turkey and bacon sandwiches and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Bill had coffee and I had a French Vanilla drink. We were able to check out emails and make a quick check of Facebook. So as it stands right now, we will only be checking our email once a day until we leave Jasper on Tuesday morning. I think the next place we are going to has internet at the campground. When we finished we walked around town for a bit. There is still more of the town to explore but I was tired by this time. We headed back to the rig and I took a long nap before making dinner. Even if I say so myself, it was a good dinner. I pounded out chicken breasts and stuffed them with apple bits, cheese and bread crumbs. I then rolled them up, seared them off and simmered in apple juice. Not a bad combo.

So that is all for now. I hope you enjoy all the pictures of the falls.